What seed was Villanova when they won the NCAA Tournament? Revisiting Wildcats' historic March Madness run

The Villanova Wildcats are one of the most successful basketball programs in the country. With three national championships, they have a reputation for being a giant killer in the NCAA tournament.

But where does that come from? Have the Wildcats won the national championship as an underdog? What seed were they when they pulled that off? Below is the story of Villanova’s historic March Madness run.

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What seed was Villanova when they won the NCAA Tournament?

Villanova was seeded No. 8 in the 1985 NCAA tournament, which they ended up winning. The Wildcats’ national championship run has been described as “one of the most surprising runs in NCAA tournament history.” In addition to their No. 8 seeding, the Wildcats were also unranked in the final AP poll for that season.

The Wildcats were coached by the legendary Rollie Massimino, who was at the job for his 12th season. The team started its campaign with victories over Dayton. This was followed by a victory over top-seeded Michigan and Maryland. They also beat second-seeded North Carolina to emerge as winners of the Southeast Regional and qualify for the Final Four in Lexington, Kentucky.

The Wildcats beat the second-seeded Memphis State to proceed to the national championship game. They faced the defending champion, Georgetown on April 1, 1985.

The two sides had previously met twice during the regular season and on each occasion, Georgetown had beaten Villanova. The Wildcats knew they needed to be at their absolute best to come out of the game victorious.

The Wildcats pulled off what is perhaps the greatest shooting performance in a national championship game. They went 22-of-28 from the field, converting 78.6% of their attempts. Theu won the game 66-64 to emerge as the national champion for the first time in their history. The squad still holds the record as the only No. 8 seed team to win the NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats would have to wait another 30 years to win their next national championship in 2016. However, they went in second-seeded for their second national championship triumph, and were a top seed in 2018 when they won their third national championship.